• Vodacom South Africa says it has achieved internet speeds of 2.4 Gbps in a recent 5G test it conducted, breaking local records.
• 5G is often lauded as the mobile network tech of the future with a large amount of 4IR use cases.
• No stranger to firsts, Vodacom also launched South Africa’s first 2G, 3G and 4G networks.

Vodacom said today that it had achieved speeds of 2.4 Gbps throughput on one of its live 5G sites in South Africa, breaking the 2Gbps barrier. A feat the telecom claims is a first for the country.

This would be 100 times faster than the fastest fibre-to-home offerings currently available in South Africa, which usually cap out at around 1 Gbps.

The fifth generation of mobile network technology, 5G has since its inception been considered a marvel of technology. It is capable of extremely fast internet speeds with ultra-low latency, massive network capacity, increased availability, and is designed for a better end-user experience. It is highly coveted by telecoms for these reasons and why they are willing to pay billions.

South Africa’s top telecom reached these blistering speeds during a trial that made of use of a commercial smartphone and was conducted through the commercial base stations that provide 5G for Vodacom’s Midrand campus.

“This achievement demonstrates Vodacom’s continued innovation as a 5G technology leader and a Network of Firsts, showcasing how fifth-generation mobile technology can unlock incredible fibre-like experiences for users on the go, or where fibre installations aren’t feasible,” said Beverly Ngwenya, Vodacom South Africa technology director.

“Most notably, this is a preview of how Vodacom’s recently acquired spectrum will enable true 5G capabilities and raise the bar on network performance,” Ngwenya added.

Vodacom recently acquired a total of 100Mhz high demand spectrum as part of the recent and long-time coming Icasa auction process. The telecom says it paid R5.38 billion for the spectrum portfolio which includes 2 x 10 Mhz in the 700 band Mhz, 1 x 80 MHz in the 2600 MHz band and 1 x 10 MHz in the 3500 MHz band.

Not a stranger to leading the pack, Vodacom was also the first telecom to launch 2G, 3G, 4G and second network to rain to launch 5G services in South Africa.

[Image – CC 0 Pixabay]